Marc D. Ensign wrote an article for an SEO newsletter I receive (don’t ask, I don’t even remember how I got signed up for it). Anyway, the article was supposed to “debunk” several SEO myths – but I had a bone to pick with one in particular. Here’s the quote:

Use a Keyword Rich Domain Name:

It is widely believed that if you include your keywords in your domain name like www.professional-website-design-in-nj.com it will greatly improve your rankings. This is not true. It is best to choose a domain name that is short, easy to remember and if possible includes your company name.

Here’s why I disagree… Google Adwords (the PPC program) gives your site a quality score based on whether your ad’s headline, body, and URL match the keywords you bid on. So why wouldn’t their natural rankings use a similar system? I know the Google algorithm is a black hole of conspiracy theories… but why wouldn’t the Big G care about domain name?

For example, let’s say I publish a blog about dog treat recipes on my domain name “bigdumbstupidfaces.com.” My nearest competitor blog covers the same topic on their domain “dogtreatrecipes.com.” Maybe I’m crazy, but shouldn’t the competitor’s keyword-rich domain name rank higher (all other factors being equal)?

I know Google isn’t my company to run, but it makes sense to look at domain names and keywords for ranking websites. Of course not the be all end all of ranking measures, but it ought to count for something.

And in my real life experience – it has. I always choose keyword rich domains for my for-profit sites. And they rank better for the keywords in the domain than they do for other keywords. SpiderControlSecret.com ranks better for “spider control” than for “spider repellent.” And I don’t target the term “spider control” very much on that page.

So what do you think? Use keyword rich domains always, when possible, or ignore the issue? I figure it can’t hurt my SEO strategy, and the search engine users will probably appreciate the transparency as well…

  • Share/Bookmark